Analysis on IT trends and competitive strategies, with emphasis on micro processors, computer systems and networks. Based on latest news, backed up with real data, this site intends to provide a true and realtime picture of the fast changing IT landscape. This journal strives to be accurate on facts and sharp on criticisms. You may email your opinion to sharikou@yahoo.com or post comments here, be cool and intelligent.

About Me

Freelance journalist on IT matters. Some of my writings have been published on online IT journals. Any original content on this journal is Copyrighted, but it's free for non-commercial use. Any Trademarks used on this site belong to their respective owners. Some of the pictures are links. If there is any issue with the content of this site, please email sharikou@yahoo.com .

Friday, August 04, 2006

Centrino seems to have a wireless backdoor

One can break into someone else's Centrino notebooks in WiFi range without much effort. I think hackers must love that. Imagine one hacker was on board the same plane as, say, some dude with a lot of secrets. Assuming that dude's Centrino notebook didn't explode into flames, the hacker would have plenty of time getting into the notebook and retrieve data at relatively highspeed.

The vulnerability in the Intel Centrino wireless device driver could allow attackers within range of Wi-Fi signal to execute arbitrary code on the Centrino notebook. It is apparently a buffer overflow problem with Intel's code. All the hacker needs to do is send Centrino an oversized peice of packet with malicious instructions attached at the end. The Intel device driver code will then happily run the malicious code.

"Description:Security vulnerabilities have been identified in the Microsoft* Windows* drivers for the Intel® 2200BG and 2915ABG PRO/Wireless Network Connection Hardware (w22n50.sys, w22n51.sys, w29n50.sys, w29n51.sys), which could potentially be exploited by attackers within range of the Wi-Fi station to execute arbitrary code on the target system with kernel-level privileges. These flaws are due to a memory corruption while parsing certain frames."

ACROSS THE BOARD. Maynor stressed that there was nothing Mac-specific in the attack. The problem was not in the OS X operating system from Apple (AAPL) but in the third-party "device driver" software. Although only Intel (INTC) has announced vulnerabilities, it seems a safe bet at this point that there are similar problems with any type of Wi-Fi radio working with any operating system, including any flavor of Windows or Linux.

It's called a driver issue. If there was some ridiculous scumbag who lived only to post meaningless drivel and lies about AMD I'm sure he could post important sounding blatherings about how AMD CPUs used to explode and how they are insecure because of one issue.

You are a joke, and everyone who knows this blog knows it. It's amazing to me that you keep posting these lies. You do know that if you ever get off welfare and apply for a job people search for you on google? Imagine how quickly they'll laugh you out of the hiring office when they see these ridiculous lies of yours.

Intel retards pay attention: w22n50.sys, w22n51.sys, w29n50.sys, w29n51.sys. Just look at the filenames, you know these device drivers are specific to Intel cards. Now, if you are saying Intel don't know how to write device drivers for their own WiFi cards but needed to outsource others to do it, then Intel people are crackpots who charge a lot of money for crap.

"Although only Intel (INTC) has announced vulnerabilities, it seems a safe bet at this point that there are similar problems with any type of Wi-Fi radio working with any operating system, including any flavor of Windows or Linux."

Is it not likely that similar devices/drivers will have similar vulnerabilities?

Sharikou - why don't you do a post on what Intel should be doing from a technology development standpoint as part of their future plans. It seems like they are investing heavily into Otellini's platform strategy (Centrino, Viiv - sounds like live but I think it's dead so far, Wimax, new enterprise platform VPro, etc.).

why don't you do a post on what Intel should be doing from a technology development standpoint as part of their future plans.

The only way for Intel to survive is to become a foundry for AMD. Anything Intel does now is too late. k8L is too advanced. and what AMD has for 2008 is even more advanced. It's beyond the reach of Intel folks.

Is it not likely that similar devices/drivers will have similar vulnerabilities?

"The video shows Ellch and Maynor targeting a specific security flaw in the Macbook's wireless "device driver," the software that allows the internal wireless card to communicate with the underlying OS X operating system. While those device driver flaws are particular to the Macbook -- and presently not publicly disclosed -- Maynor said the two have found at least two similar flaws in device drivers for wireless cards either designed for or embedded in machines running the Windows OS."

"Apple -- like many computer manufacturers -- outsources the development of its wireless device drivers to third parties. In Apple's case, the developer in question is Atheros, a company that devises drivers for a number of different wireless cards, each designed with drivers specific to the operating systems on which they will be used."

Intel retards. Apple's problem is Apple's problem. Intel's problem is Intel's problem. Retards stick to each other. Apple and Intel are both crap, but that can't be generalized to the whole industry. Intel's press release stated clearly the flaw is in Intel's device drivers. The question is who wrote those device drivers for Intel's wifi cards. In either case, intel is crap.

Apple's problem is Atheros's problem, which has ties with Netgear, which has ties with everyone in Wifi:P

"Although only Intel (INTC) has announced vulnerabilities, it seems a safe bet at this point that there are similar problems with any type of Wi-Fi radio working with any operating system, including any flavor of Windows or Linux."

I'd rather believe Maynor of SecureWorks than you, though who would take your words to heart:P

"Although only Intel (INTC) has announced vulnerabilities, it seems a safe bet at this point that there are similar problems with any type of Wi-Fi radio working with any operating system, including any flavor of Windows or Linux."

The dude who said this has an IQ of -20. Intel's problem was clearly identified as a flaw in the device driver. Was this craphead saying Linux (which is open source) uses the same crap code for any wifi chip? Just look at this project for Broadcom WiFi chips ( http://linux-bcom4301.sourceforge.net/), you can see the some code is written from scratch.

"Until a driver is completed, there is a workaround for Intel/AMD-based computers called NdisWrapper, which allows you to use Windows drivers within Linux. This does not work for non-x86 architectures (ie Macs)."

Page last updated: May 9, 2005

"While work has previously been published on the Sourceforge CVS repository, we have transferred our efforts to a private server to avoid potential legal issues."

The driver isn't even functional and the source isn't viewable like you said.

The driver isn't even functional and the source isn't viewable like you said.

Crap head. I was just trying to illustrate that different devices may be based on different codes written by different people. For instance, Broadcom has its people writing device driver, Intel has its idiots writint device driver, there are open source folks writing device drivers... The fact Intel idiots wrote device drivers that have buffer overflow problems doesn't mean other people will make the same mistake. The conclusion by that low IQ retard that any device any OS has the same problem is just moronic. It's like saying two monkeys typed the same letter wrong at the same page. I am wasting my time explain this to you retards.

Funny how Intel apologists are trying to defend Intel. If Intel is boasting itself as a Wi-Fi leader with the much touted Centrino...wooooooCen..trin..no..then have to release a 129MB re-write(not just a patch). That's sad.

I agree that this is a buffer overflow in the Intel's drivers and is therefore Intel's fault. However, I think that your comment about the lack of support for the NX-bit is incorrect. Pentium M is also supposed to have it since Dothan (only in 32-bit mode, of course :) ). And the real reason it didn't prevent the exploit is that AFAIK Windows doesn't use NX-bit protection for device drivers, only for user apps.

What he was also saying is it was a CPU security problem. Such as a AMD, it has no security problems because it doesn't allow a EXE to exicute in the buffer like a virus.

Intel chips however have this problem because the code and security buffer stinks. Thats another reason why the US goverment canned conroe. All they use is AMD for a reason. Your never going to see the us goverment use a conroe because its not MILITARY GRADE A MATERIAL. AMD's are much better for the US goverment. Best example, US goverment REJECTS CONROE. lol No more can be said. Theres nothing more to say.

Hey, of course you'll never address this just like you won't address any other part of this message, but whatever. How many hands on tests do you do personally? How often do you personally put a machine through it's paces?

Or do you choose to only go from second hand information. You claim that AT and Toms are biased, yet you do not challenge otherwise personally. Will you say that you can't buy a Conroe which is why you won't run a test?

According to your statistics, you should be able to buy a Conroe in no time. Remember? There's no demand! You posted this yourself.

Can you not afford to do this then? Is that the issue? Has your doctorate failed you? Oh, your doctorate hasn't failed you, right? You've got money.

Or are you broke? Not many real doctors are broke, unless they've got a mental issue. No mental issue, you say? Okay.

Well, if you can afford to do this then do it. What's that you say? No time? You spend all day posting messages around the internet, take a few hours off. We'll forgive you.

So in effect, you have no justifiable reason to not run your own tests, since you think everyone is biased.

Oh wait. You're biased, aren't you? You'd love nothing more than to see Intel go down. Or am I wrong?

Bottom line is you whine constantly about Tom's and AT, but I haven't seen you post any benchmarks yourself.

I've been here long enough to discern a profile of you:

-You're about 24 years old.-You are unemployed, partly because people don't like you because you feel that you're superior to other people, partly because you have nothing to speak about other than cpu's, and partly because you have no sense of humor.-You have no degrees in anything.-You have an obsessive compulsive disorder. Your basement, which you live in, is immaculate. -Everything you've learned about CPUs is from the internet and other people, not from doing anything yourself.-You are single because you are too manipulative to be in any sort of relationship.

Well, don't just sit there, you've got dusting and posting all over the net to do.

-You are unemployed, partly because people don't like you because you feel that you're superior to other people, partly because you have nothing to speak about other than cpu's......or maybe your assumption of him being unemployed is based on the words of some anonymous poster saying that Sharikou was fired and not so much on your great knowledge of psychology.

and partly because you have no sense of humor.LOL! Sharikou has no sense of humor?! I bet you haven't seen Sharikou's phone conversation "transcripts"? :)

"Toms? Do they have enough education and IQ to challenge my analysis?"

"The only way for Intel to survive is to become a foundry for AMD. Anything Intel does now is too late. k8L is too advanced. and what AMD has for 2008 is even more advanced. It's beyond the reach of Intel folks."

But Sharikou the Phd pretender who education and IQ is so high that he can't burden with us his degree, speciality, school. He is just so smart that he can't share facts.

Instead he shares opinions that are so farfetched the common man can't understand but the blind AMD fanboy eats of his backdoor.

How appropriate he titles this "..backdoor!"

Sharikou is far smarter, for more capable! He has a PhD. Yet he has no job, spends his days and nights screening posts and adding more comments on his blog.

Sharikou if you are so smart INTEL or AMD would have hired you. The fact you are here pontificating on the sideline tells you that neither AMD nor INTEL values anything you say here.

Sobering heah fanboys... if Sharikou had a real PhD, was as good/right as he claims to be he would be employed and helping change the world. Instead he yaps from the sideline criticizing and pretending to know all. The bottom line is he knows nothing has nothing of value to add to the real world.

He makes wild stupid staments like INTEL should foundry AMD's chip. INTEL is going bankrupt. COre2 benchmarks are all lies. Clearly a man with lots of vision.

Is that all your IQ can do. Show us how smart you are. Tell us what features INTEL should add to Core2 to compete against K8L. Tell us what INTEL's roadmap should do to compete against AMD ( the details, remember you are so smart). Then tell us what/should AMD do... ( remember you are so smart and know it all! ).

Now to reality, all the sites Sharikou degenerates do real work, provide the details, make a analysis based on data. Since these sites to gather real data it must be lies bribed by AMD. FUnny weren't these the same sites that told us how FX62 and Opetron were the winners over Pentium what only 6 months ago? What changed in those 6 months? AMD bribes stopped and INTEL bribes started. Funny I thought INTEL would have been smart enough to bribe these sites from the beginning to lie about AMD performance....

Notice no adds here. NO company would pay to have any banner associated with this. Kind of like going to a garbage dump.. you don't find billboards or advertisements there either.

Sharikou like his PhD is total fabrication, keep it up.

Oh.. this is also good!

"The dude who said this has an IQ of -20" Wow what is Sharkiou's IQ. Can you provide independent confirmation its above Forrest Gumps? If not at least tell us where and what you got your PhD in!

I know you can't divulge anything to substantaite your credibility, but I can count on you and your fanboys for a good laugh all day long. AFter all it would be no fun if we found out you had a PhD from some noname school for a total stupid PhD topic.

No. Even according to Intel's specs, only some Core Duo chips support NX bit. Then, there is the question whether Intel was able to correctly implement it.Some Pentium Ms are also supposed to have it, according to Intel:http://www.intel.com/products/processor_number/chart/pentium_m.htm

Windows XP SP2 uses NX bit to protect against buffer overflow in device drivers, so AMD64/Turion 64 will not have such Wifi problem at all. Only Intelers enjoy being hacked for being Intelers.While I wouldn't be very surprised if Intel didn't implement the NX-bit correctly, I'm not sure if I can trust Microsoft, either :)Were these buffer overflows on the stack or on the heap? Is the heap also protected for device drivers? Anyway even if NX did work, it's still not an excuse for writing buggy drivers, because it would only prevent the attacker from taking control of the system, but he will still be able to crash them remotely, which is also not good.

These bufferoverflow progamming errors are deliberate and crafted to be backdoors into anyone computers, any one who thinks that these are overlooked bugs is stupid when they are discovered to the general public then the smoke screen goes up..

Intel is dead, they are collapsing under its own weight, it won't live making a shitty chip that are unwanted by government. C2D will not make a difference as it is a small percentage of what Intel will sell. Netwurst is already too old, too shitty and slow. The ending is all too familiar too Motorola. Intel is dead as a old man with a heart attack

Intel openly admits that their hardware is at fault. "Security vulnerabilities exist in the Microsoft* Windows* drivers for the Intel® 2200BG and 2915ABG PRO/Wireless Network Connection Hardware because of the way that they currently handle certain frames. An attacker could potentially exploit these vulnerabilities which could potentially lead to remote code execution and system control." Note the above quote from INTEL. Where does it claim vulnerability exists within linux?? Where does it mention the problem exists with any type of Wi-Fi radio working with any operating system?How can Intel fanboys argue with a statement posted by Intel? Are you for or against them? Are you mentally challenged? This statement is coming directly from INTEL ITSELF for God's sake.

As for the genius that posted:"Although only Intel (INTC) has announced vulnerabilities, it seems a safe bet at this point that there are similar problems with any type of Wi-Fi radio working with any operating system, including any flavor of Windows or Linux."

The jackass who made that statement is Stephen H. Wildstrom from Businessweek. I wouldn't cite him as a knowledgeable source in this matter. His bio states:"Before starting Technology & You, Steve served as senior news editor in BusinessWeek's Washington bureau and edited the Washington Outlook column. Since joining the magazine in 1972, he has served in variety of capacities, covering politics, economics, and labor in Washington and Detroit. Steve also has deep interests in education and the arts. He is a founder/board member of the Children's Chorus of Washington." He doesn't have a background that would qualify him as an authority in this situation, so why would you quote him from his article? Do you just believe random drivel posted on a website? Pick some credible links for God's sake.

I also watched the video of the hack and read the statements of the individuals who discovered the hack. Maybe I am wrong, but THEY don't specifically mention Linux or FreeBSD. The MAC notebook they attacked had no security measures in place either. Linux has Kernel level encryption schemes and numerous other encryption methods at various levels depending on your preference of its integration. The security features you can deploy to counter outside attack via network attack or through physical access to your system is astounding. Devices can be utilized as well to perform air perimeter sweeps. Devices can be used to monitor all channels to provide detection and prevention against intrusion attempts. The list of attacks which can be successfully combated are too many for me even to mention in one post. RF monitoring is nothing new. It's retarded to even categorize Linux with Windows in this wireless vulnerability. I take percautions from the ground up with my linux install and have adequate defensive measures in place to scan a set radius around my system. I find it insulting that they believe everyone roams around without adequate protection measures in place. There isn't a chance in hell that one could simply view my private documents on the fly without launching multiple decryption schemes of at least 256 bit of X encrytpion method. Then to not notice the bast*rd within my perimeter zone would be highly unlikely. These protection methods are easy to use and cheap nowadays. Most people are just too stupid, careless, or indifferent to implement them. The creation and deletion of documents was also mentioned along with their ability to read files, but I have mainly hit upon the difficulty of someone to read encrypted files. This post is getting too long for me to note the difficulty to perform each senario under a secure linux system setup. And why in God's name someone would use Intel types devices or drivers is beyond me anyway.

Ok, this guy is too stupid to pass up. And your name is .... oh wait it's "anonymous said..." and yet you state:"But Sharikou the Phd pretender who education and IQ is so high that he can't burden with us his degree, speciality, school. He is just so smart that he can't share facts."It's ok that you reveal nothing about yourself though. Your astounding ability to form a sentence truly reveals your IQ.

"Sharikou if you are so smart INTEL or AMD would have hired you. The fact you are here pontificating on the sideline tells you that neither AMD nor INTEL values anything you say here."Support for a company doesn't guarantee you a job position. I wish it did, but unfortunately it doesn't.

"He makes wild stupid staments like INTEL should foundry AMD's chip. INTEL is going bankrupt. COre2 benchmarks are all lies. Clearly a man with lots of vision."They seem like valid points based on current events. Have you read Intel's latest earning statements, seen Intel's income statement, noticed Intel's dwindling marketshare, read into Intel's existing architectural layout or past/present methodologies, viewed the instances of product defects uncovered in Intel platforms, read any of the past or present court cases against Intel, noticed how most corporations don't seem to embrace Intel's current architecture over AMD's, read about issues Intel is (and have had) having with excessive heat generation and system crashes, and so on. It's not like the evidence is hidden from the general public.

"Notice no adds here. NO company would pay to have any banner associated with this. Kind of like going to a garbage dump.. you don't find billboards or advertisements there either."So let me get this straight. You believe that someone needs to have ads and banners to give their site validity or recognition? My God that's stupid. Why not throw in some popup windows advertising products or services. Why not add animated texts and videos advertising corporate logos. Maybe toss in flashing banners using bright colors. Possibly generate ad revenue as we are all bombarded with annoying advertisements of products we don't care about. That's really smart "anonymous said..." I think you're on to something. God forbid people visit this blog site to discuss technology free from annoying ads and ridiculous effects.

"I know you can't divulge anything to substantaite your credibility, but I can count on you and your fanboys for a good laugh all day long."Reading your post has kept me laughing all day.

"What a joke"Nice powerful ending. Sweet. Did you think of that all by yourself or was that a group effort between you and the guy standing next to you wearing leather assless chaps and a muzzle? Did you actually walk away from your computer after you typed that? Did a sense of victory and accomplishment sweep over you? Your grand benevolence known to the world as you graced us readers with your profond statements of infallible eloquence.

I think the debate about sharikous IQ or education has long passed.. Everybody knows that he does not have a PhD or even a Masters degree.. Most people doubt he even finished his B.S..

I am a technology fan boy.. I have an AMD, Apple, and Intel systems. The only problem I found among all these systems, was the OS..

But I guess it is a fair game the people keep wondering about Sharikou's IQ/education since he is not answering their questions about his quals.. If you back up your opinions with some PhD claims, it is fair to tell people what was it in and how it helps you back up your opinions.. If you do not back it up, well, nobody will take you seriously.

If you drop the Phd title, they may have more respect for you.

Dude, In all honesty, I do not tell people about this blog so it does not give AMD a bad picture about its supporters.. So, Shak, you are hurting AMD more than Intel.

Dave says:WiFi driver hacks are only the latest intel design problem. A few months back, A french government IT security service discovered a major hardware flaw in all pentium based processors. It was a legacy problem starting with P3 and continues up to Conroe. It may or may not have been removed in Conroe chips. Please refer to http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=18375538&postID=115471074597785869 If you put the two together, it is possible to hack into any networked active pentium based computer, and sieze administrative control. The theory is that a net worm could reproduce and attack that weakness, and kill almost every intel PC in a matter of weeks. That would make some headlines! It makes me real glad to have the "no execute" feature of my AMD chips to prevent such a possibility. I also have a temperature monitor installed on my desktop 3200+. It runs 24/7/365 with a stock AMD cooler. I have never seen the cpu temp rise above 131 degrees F, under any load, state or condition, even when the room temperature rose to 102 F ambient this week or the disks warm to 172 F under heavy read/writes.

I also doubt Dr. Sharikou's credentials as a real Ph.D. would not use such insults as "all their programmers are idiots". If you've ever participated in any real debate at the doctoral level, the last thing you do is insult your opponents intelligence. You may disagree with their theory or conclusions, but in the end you are both seeking truth (or funding :) ).

He got no PhD, he got no family, he got no life, all he got is a blog.He got nothing to show for his sorry life..So sad. I feel for your parents.. must live in shame.Whats worst the shit or the flies that swarm around it?

Words like these can only come from a miserable person with poorest of educations. If there's anyone you should be sorry about, it's the person you most often see in your mirror. I like this blog and read it often, though I disagree with some of the statements made by the author. The opinion expressed in this blog adds to the diversity of thought on the internet and we should all do our part to protect it.

Words like these can only come from a miserable person with poorest of educations.

Did you see the video of the Intel shareholder meeting? you can see those poor teardful Intel investors who were so mad, it's hilarious. They called for Paul O to be fired. I think the Intelers here should do more useful work by getting some firing done. I heard some AMD folks saying they are grateful to Craig and Paul...